Chapter 3: How did Russian Revolution influence the media
3.2 Revolutionary impact on the media
The Russian Revolution became a frame of reference in which the press could debate social and economic conditions affecting Norway.87 Periods of social and economic unrest also tends to spark unfavourable rhetoric directed towards the current governmental administration; for Norway, this rhetoric intensified in conjunction with the Bolshevik Revolution. Antimilitaristic articles and articles inciting revolution among the workers were in 1917 and onwards interpreted differently than what they would have been the year before, and the state took measures to limit the spread of newspapers that were reminiscent of revolutionary rhetoric.88 As revolutionary fear became more apparent in Norwegian society, journalists and editors from socialist newspapers who were advocating for antimilitarism were arrested by the government.89 Censorship and distribution bans on socialist newspapers were becoming more common as revolutionary rhetoric grew, and this infringement on the freedom of speech was not generally not something the conservative newspapers protested.90 Not surprisingly, the conservative newspapers became more negative towards the Bolshevik Revolution as time progressed and the nature of the Bolshevik government revealed itself. This meant that both the socialist and the conservative newspapers to a higher degree cherry picked the instances when they would protest government censorship, and it was rarely on behalf of the opposing side.91 An example of this was when the workers of Sulitjelma protested their poor working-conditions in quickly became a conflict reported by Aftenposten and Social-Demokraten. Aftenposten reported that the actors involved were “Violent offenders” and that ordeal was sorted out without any “disturbance of the peace”.92 The same story reported in Social-Demokraten had a very different tone, reporting that the protesters had acted in peaceful manners and that any use of military force against them would lead to “capricious consequences” from the labour movement.
Political polarisation and bias within the press defines the period after the Bolshevik Revolution. The rhetoric which before could only be heard by the select few, was now heard in parliament and in major news outlets. One of the biggest issues concerning the political landscape was the military and how it was used by the current government. The arrestation of Martin Tranmæl and the events that transpired in Sulitjelma sparked strong opposition from the Labour Party, especially because soldiers had been used to suppress potential demonstrations. Social-Demokraten attacks the compulsory military service by arguing that the soldiers sent to Trondheim during the arrestation of Tranmæl were “exclusively boys from the upper- and middleclass” and that they did not dare use boys from the working class.93 Furthermore they state
By proceeding this way, the military authorities can create a small but even more homogenous and capable army. And when it fights against unarmed worker – armed with mortars, machine guns, cannons etc. - it will have the best chances of winning, despite its inferiority.94
87 Ottoesen 2017: 30
20
The article arguments further that by refusing to deploy soldiers from the working class, it admits that the military service presupposes a willingness to defend the privileges of the upper classes.95 Not surprisingly, the article concerning the arrestation of Tranmæl is not given nearly as much space in Aftenposten, and there is no mention of soldiers or protests in Trondheim.96
95 Ibid: 4
96 Aftenposten 15.04.1918: 1
21
Conclusion:There is no doubt that the Norwegian society which existed in 1914 was fundamentally different from the one who entered the 1920s. From being a subject nation of Sweden and then experiencing a global conflict along with a Marxist revolution in its neighbouring country in a period of fifteen years left permanent marks on Norwegian society. The impacts of the Russian Revolution, whether implicit or explicit, would define Norwegian policy throughout the Interwar period. It is important to consider that even though the thesis differentiated between the three parts of Norwegian society, the government, the labour movement, and the media had a continuous impact on each other. From a political perspective, the Bolshevik Revolution would reignite the old fear of Russia in the form of an ideology which now was not only a perceived threat to Northern Norway, but to the whole political system. Norway and Russia also lost their shared border with the independence of Finland, which along with an end to the traditional pomor trade further separated the interconnectedness of the two nations. The revolutionary impact on the labour movement made itself evident in many different areas; perhaps most notably was the direct influence it had on the creation of Workers’ Councils and Soldiers’ Councils. The revolution also legitimised the views of the radical socialists within the labour movement and facilitated their rise to the leadership of the Norwegian Labour Party. With a new leadership inspired by the ideals of the Russian Revolution, the labour movement grew and became more active in challenging the current political system. Even though the labour movement that arose alongside the Russian Revolution did not survive, they managed to create one of the most revolutionary party platforms in Western Europe and successfully gained governmental support for labour issues which had been a part of the party platform for years. It can therefore be argued that even though the Russian Revolution and the Labour Party’s relationship with the Communist International would fragment the Labour Party, it had an overall positive impact on the Norwegian labour movement. The press had an important role in influencing public perception of the war and its participators, and considering many of those who would become the core of the leadership within the Norwegian Labour Party had backgrounds in journalism, further accentuate how important their work was for mobilising the labour movement. Because of the success of the Bolshevik Revolution, the socialist newspapers could also legitimise their ideas by referencing the Bolshevik government in Petrograd. The the Russian Revolution can be defined as an event with an immense impact on Norwegian society, not only in its explicit influence on the government and labour movement but becoming a socialist monument that evoke both fear and awe. A monument that would become one of the most influential of its kind in the history of humankind.
22
Literature:
Alta Museum. (1991). Trekk fra forsvarets historie i Finnmark. Alta: Alta bataljon.
Bull, E. (1922). Arbeiderbevægelsens stilling i de tre nordiske land 1914-1920. Kristiania:
Det Norske arbeiderpartiets forl.
Arnot, R. P. (1967). The impacts of the Russian Revolutions in Britain. London: Lawrence and Wishart.
Det Norske Arbeiderparti. (1915). Socialisternes valgprogram 1915. Retrieved from https://res.cloudinary.com/arbeiderpartiet/image/upload/v1/ievv_filestore/dd73b7e94d4 e445ba5559f010a30191f7daf1fcdddbf4835bcefc62230a8b682.
Det Norske Arbeiderparti. (1919). Arbeidsprogram 1919. Retrieved from
https://res.cloudinary.com/arbeiderpartiet/image/upload/v1/ievv_filestore/12d1371f40fb 4b0e9a5f4835e9414ce4c9ea5390bb8e4cfc8bfb2568b1c6a16c.
Daly, J. W. and Trofimov, L. (2017). The Russian Revolution and its global impact: A short history with documents. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing.
Danielsen, E. (1964). Norge og Sovjetunionen: Norges utenrikspolitikk overfor Sovjetunionen 1917-1940. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Danielsen, H., Holtsmark, S. G., Kasijan. A. S., Nielsen, J. P., Rotihaug, I. and Rønning, O. M. (2015). Sovjetunionen og norsk arbeiderbevegelse. I Holtsmark, S.G. (Ed.), Frykt og forventning. Norge og Russland 1917–2014 (p. 136-172). Oslo: Pax.
Egge, Å. (2017). Fra revolusjonsbegeistring til brobygging – Moskva i norsk
arbeiderbevegelse 1917-1991. Mediehistorisk Tidsskrift, 2017(28), 16-27. Retrieved from http://medietidsskrift.no/content/uploads/pub/2017/11/NMF-tidsskrift-2-2017.pdf.
Eriksen, K.E. (1981). Den finske fare: sikkerhetsproblemer og minoritetspolitikk i nord 1860-1940. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Fure, O. B. (1983). Mellom reformisme og bolsjevisme – Norsk arbeiderbevegelse 1918–
1920. Teori. Praksis. (Doctoral dissertation), Universitetet i Bergen, Bergen.
Furre, B. (1991). Vårt hundreår: norsk historie 1905-1990. Oslo: Samlaget.
Goldin, I. V. (1996). Revolusjonært kaos i Russland: forholdet til Norge. In Goldin, I. V.
and Nielsen, J. P. (Ed.), Naboer i frykt og forventning: Norge og Russland i det 20.
århundre (p. 39-62). Arkhangelsk: Pomoruniversitetets forlag.
Holtsmark, S. (1988). Between «russophobia» and “bridge-building”: the Norwegian Government and the Soviet Union 1940-1945 (Vol. 5/1988, Forsvarsstudier (Oslo: 1987-2006: online)). Oslo: Institutt for forsvarsstudier.
Holtsmark, S., Kasijan, A. S. and Repnevskij, A. V. (2015). En ny start. In Holtsmark, S.
(Ed.), Naboer i frykt og forventning: Norge og Russland 1917-2014 (p. 29-51). Oslo:
Pax.
Kristiansen, T. (1993). Fra Europas utkant til strategisk brennpunkt: Trusselvurdering og militære tiltak i nord fra 1900 til 1940. Oslo: Institutt for forsvarsstudier.
23
Laing, S. (1837). Journal of a residence in Norway during the years 1834, 1835, and 1836 (2nd ed.). London: Longman.
Olstad, F. (2018). Spørsmålet om revolusjon i Norge og Skandinavia 1917-1921.
Arbeiderhistorie, 2018(01), 127-141. Retrieved from
https://www.idunn.no/file/pdf/67051938/spoersmaalet_om_revolusjon_i_norge_og_skan dinavia_191721.pdf.
Omang, F. (1968). Internasjonale Garantier. Oslo: Instituttet for statsvitenskap, Universistet i Oslo.
Ottoesen, R. (2017). Revolusjonsfrykt og klassekamp: 1917-revolusjonen og norsk presse. Mediehistorisk Tidsskrift, 2017(28), 28-42. Retrieved from
http://medietidsskrift.no/content/uploads/pub/2017/11/NMF-tidsskrift-2-2017.pdf.
Nielsen, J. P. (1996). Det gamle Russland og det nye Norge (1905-1917). Et naboskap uten frykt? In Goldin, I. V. and Nielsen, J. P. (Ed.), Naboer i frykt og forventning: Norge og Russland i det 20. århundre (p. 11-38). Arkhangelsk: Pomoruniversitetets forlag.
Karelin, V. and Nielsen, J. P. (2014). Kampen om nordmennenes hjerter. In Nielsen, J. P.
(Ed.), Russland kommer nærmere: Norge og Russland 1814-1917 (p. 525-544). Oslo:
Pax.
Nielsen, J. P. (2014). Russland og den svensk-norske «dualisme» (1814-1905). Nordisk Østforum, 14(1), 47-60. Retrieved from
https://www.idunn.no/nof/2014/01/russland_og_den_svensk-norske_dualisme_1814-1905.
Statistisk Sentralbyrå. (1923). Folketellingen i Norge 1 desember 1920. Retrieved from https://www.ssb.no/a/histstat/nos/nos_vii_081.pdf.
Stugu, O. S. (2012). Norsk historie etter 1905. Oslo: Det norske samlaget.
Svalbardtraktaten. (1920). Traktat mellem Norge, Amerikas Forente Stater, Danmark, Frankrike, Italia, Japan, Nederlandene, Storbritannia og Irland og de britiske oversjøiske besiddelser og Sverige angående Spitsbergen (LOV-1920-02-09). Retrieved from
https://lovdata.no/lov/1920-02-09.
Tjelmeland, H. (2017). Arbeidarpartiet, bolsjevikpartiet og sovjetstaten 1917–1991.
Arbeiderhistorie, (01), 85-105. Retrieved from
https://www.idunn.no/file/pdf/66946288/arbeidarpartiet_bolsjevikpartiet_og_sovjetstate n_19171991.pdf.
Vogt, P. (1938). Jerntid og jobbetid: En skildring av Norge under verdenskrigen: Med mange illustrasjoner. Oslo: Tanum.
Newspapers:
Aftenposten. (1917, 08. November). Petrograd i marksimalisternes hænder.
Aftenposten. (1917, 30. Novemeber). Russland opfordrer de krigdørende til at aabne fredsforhandlinger 1ste december.
24
Aftenposten. (1918, 21. January). Ruslands grundlovgivende forsamling opløst.
Aftenposten. (1918, 15. April). Sagen mod Tranmæl.
Aftenposten. (1918, 17. April). Voldsforbrydelserne i Sulitjelma.
Social-Demokraten. (1917, 15. March). Fuldstændig revolution i Russland.
Social-Demokraten. (1917, 12. November). Hele Russland i opløsning.
Social-Demokraten. (1917, 30. November). De sidste skud er faldt ved den russiske front.
Social-Demokraten. (1918, 21. January). Kjempemøtet i Cirkus.
Social-Demokraten. (1918, 17. April). Den almindelige vernepligt.
NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Humanities Department of Historical Studies
Bachelor ’s pr oject
Magnus Solberg
In the shadow of the Revolution
An analysis of the impact of the Russian Revolution in Norway, 1917-1920
Bachelor’s project in Lektorutdanning i historie for trinn 8–13 Supervisor: Michael J. Geary
May 2020